1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a microchip card for accessing a remote application, a terminal and a communication system associated with the microchip card, and a method of accessing the remote application using the microchip card.
More generally, the field of the invention is that of communication systems such as cable communication systems, cellular communication systems, for example the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), cordless telephone systems, for example the DECT (Digital European Cordless Telephone) system or CTS (Cordless Telephone System), or microcomputers equipped, for example, with a multifunction modem providing access to the Internet, for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To offer them an improved service, more and more businesses are making remote applications available to their customers so that customers can obtain information more easily on what the business can offer them, its products and prices, for example, and carry out various transactions. For example, using various terminals such as a microcomputer fitted with an Internet access modem or a Minitel videotex terminal, customers can use an application made available to them by a bank to look up the balance of their account and perform transfers or by a travel agent to look up timetables and details of available seats and order train or plane tickets.
This situation is somewhat disconcerting for users because they have to know and to input to each terminal a multitude of parameters, for example a telephone number and an IP (Internet Protocol) or other address, which can lead to confusion, in particular if the user wants to access more than one application.
A microcomputer does not provide the same mode of access to a chosen application as a mobile telephone or a Minitel terminal, for example.
The aim of the present invention is to simplify access by a user to a remote application from any kind of terminal.
To this end, the invention consists in a microchip card for enabling a user to access at least one chosen application on a particular server by means of any communication terminal using at least one mode of communication and fitted with a reader compatible with the microchip card, which card includes:
memory means for storing sets of parameters specific to the at least one mode of communication used by the terminal and to the at least one chosen application,
means for recognizing the at least one mode of communication used by the terminal in which it is inserted,
means connected to the memory means and to the recognition means for selecting a set of parameters corresponding to a recognized mode of communication of the terminal and to the chosen application, and
means for delivering the selected parameter set to the terminal to enable access to the chosen application, from the terminal.
The microchip card in accordance with the invention can have one or more of the following features:
each set of parameters includes an address, a protocol type, protocol parameters and data relating to security and to the right of access to the chosen application, the address and the protocol type of each set of parameters being compatible with the mode of communication or one of the modes of communication used by the terminal,
if the terminal can use several communication modes, the card further comprises memory means for storing a priority criterion connected to the selector means,
the priority criterion is a criterion included in the following group: the maximum transmission speed of a mode of communication, the quantity of data to be exchanged with the server, the cost of the call between the terminal and the server for a given mode of communication,
its memory means comprise at least two sets of parameters respectively corresponding to two different applications.
The invention further consists in a communication terminal using at least one mode of communication and equipped with a reader compatible with a microchip card as defined above, which terminal comprises means for supplying the identity of each used mode of communication to the recognition means of the microchip card, means for recovering the set of parameters delivered by the delivery means, and means for processing the delivered set of parameters to establish access to the chosen application.
In accordance with another feature, the terminal is a terminal of one of the types from the following group: cable telephone terminal, cellular telephone terminal, cordless telephone terminal, microcomputer.
The invention further consists in a communication system which comprises at least one microchip card as defined above, at least one terminal as defined above and at least one server of at least one application.
The invention equally consists in a method of allowing a user to access at least one chosen application of a particular server by means of a communication terminal of any kind using at least one communication mode and equipped with a reader compatible with the microchip card, which method includes the following steps:
memorizing the set of parameters specific to the at least one communication mode used by the terminal and to the at least one chosen application,
recognizing the at least one mode of communication used by the terminal in which it is inserted,
selecting a set of parameters corresponding to a recognized communication mode of the terminal and to the at least one chosen application, and
delivering the selected set of parameters to the terminal to enable access to the chosen application from the terminal.
The method of the invention may further include one or more of the following features:
each stored set of parameters includes an address, a protocol type, protocol parameters and data relating to security and to the right of access to the chosen application, the address and the protocol type of each set of parameters being compatible with a single mode of communication that can be used by the terminal,
if the terminal can use more than one mode of communication, a priority criterion is taken into account in the step of selecting one of the recognized modes of communication,
the priority criterion is a criterion included in the following group: the maximum speed of transmission of a mode of communication, the quantity of data to be exchanged with the server, the cost of the call between the terminal and the server for a given mode of communication,
the sets of parameters are downloaded from the server of the chosen application.